


Ticket Home

by amuk



Category: Free!
Genre: Communication Failure, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lack of Communication, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-24
Updated: 2014-11-24
Packaged: 2018-02-26 20:02:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2664596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amuk/pseuds/amuk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You know,” Gou starts, “I’m starting to think you like Sousuke and Haru more than you like me.” --Rin, Gou</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ticket Home

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: September 9 // Ticket Home
> 
> A/N: The show really missed out on showing their sibling relationship. On Rin’s side that is. D

“You know,” Gou starts, “I’m starting to think you like Sousuke and Haru more than you like me.”

 

Rin sharply turns his head, staring at her. Either she's ignoring him or doesn't notice—up the trail she walks, her face hidden behind her hair.

 

“What?” He can't tell if she's joking or not.

 

“Well, you text Sousuke almost every day.” Again, she stubbornly (he's sure of it this time, she's doing this on purpose) keeps facing away from him. The ground beneath their feet is a little slippery from the rain, but somehow she doesn't slip and he's unable to be remain stable for more than a few minutes. They never should have taken this path to their father's grave.

 

“I write to you too.”

 

“By letter. Even Haru doesn't send anything by letter anymore. You email him.”

 

“Gou—”

 

“Kou!”

 

“Kou,” he amends. “A letter is harder to write than a small text or a quick email. I put more thought into it.”

 

“And I get one maybe every other month. Every month if I prod you enough. I know my swim team better than I know you.”

 

“That's not true.”

 

“And I'm certain you know me even less.”

 

“That's not true.”

 

“Oh really?” She stops moving now, her chin jutting to the left and he really wants to grab her shoulders and spin her around.  “I can list the amount of contact I had with you when you left for Australia the first time with my hand. And the second time somehow reaches my toes.”

 

 “But you send me letters and texts and I read those.”

 

“How am I supposed to know that?” Her voice rises, a strange tone taking over it. “How am I supposed to know anything? Sousuke knew two weeks before I did that you were coming home. Haru knew you had an important meet and I found out after it was over.”

 

“Gou—”

 

“Kou!”

 

“Kou...” Rin runs a hand through his hair, uncomfortable. Sousuke had warned him of this. The irony of that doesn't escape him.

 

“I'm sorry.”

 

“Good.”

 

She's still not looking at him and this time he does reach out and grab her arm. His sister freezes, but doesn't pull away. “Look, I was going to give you these after...”

 

She stares at his other hand, the plane ticket with her name on it clamped tightly in his fingers. “Australia?”

 

“You haven't visited me there yet.”

 

“Even Haru and Sousuke did that before me.” She turns to face him, and now he can see the tears in her eyes.

 

“But not my special guided tour.”

 

“You're just going to show me pools,” she complains, still crying, but she grabs the ticket anyways.

 

“Caught me.” Slowly, he wraps his arms around her and smiles in surprise when she hugs back. “But there'll be muscles.”

 

“Lots of muscles.” Her voice is muffled by his shirt but he can still catch the small sob in it. The tears that stain his shirt a heavy guilt.

 

“I'm sorry.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I'll text you more often.”

 

“You said that the last time.”

 

“If I don't, you can punch me. Or have Sousuke do it.”

 

“...promise?” She looks up at him now. The tears of dried on her face and she looks like a mess. “You’ll write?”

 

He doesn’t have a towel, doesn’t have anything to clean up the mess he made. Ruefully, he smoothens her hair as a compromise. “Promise.”

 

Her smile almost blinds him and she takes him by the hand. “Ok, let’s go. We’ve kept Dad waiting long enough.”

 

Kou’s grip is tight and he tries not to forget how he almost let go of it.


End file.
